Bluetooth transmitter than works with Model 3

[Perry]

So I was looking for a AUX input jack and there isn't one so it looks like bluetooth is the only way to transmit audio from an external source to the car's stereo speakers.

Has anyone had any success with a third party bluetooth transmitter that can convert audio coming from an 1/8" jack into a bluetooth stream that the car stereo can use as audio input?

 

[andremc]

Search amazon for “Bluetooth car adapter” and see if any of those fit your needs.

But to be clear on your needs, are you saying you have a device (music player, I’m guessing) which doesn’t have Bluetooth, that you’d like to play through your car? If so, there are some that are powered through your cigarette lighter and use FM radio to broadcast. Just make sure to choose one that has an aux input.

 

[Perry]

Search amazon for “Bluetooth car adapter” and see if any of those fit your needs.

But to be clear on your needs, are you saying you have a device (music player, I’m guessing) which doesn’t have Bluetooth, that you’d like to play through your car? If so, there are some that are powered through your cigarette lighter and use FM radio to broadcast. Just make sure to choose one that has an aux input.

Yes I have a MP3 player without bluetooth (1/8 jack only) that I would like to play through the car's speakers.

I would like to stay away from FM radio broadcast since the audio quality is low on those.

And yes I did look at Amazon but many of the descriptions say their unit does not work with cars because some cars require pin and you can't enter pin with with their transmitters so I ask here if anyone has direct experience with a device that they actually got working with their Model 3 to save me from returning many of these devices that will not work.

Do you know if the model 3 asks for pin entry when pairing Bluetooth?

 

[andremc]

Got it. I bought the LeFun T10 about a year ago, and played with a different one as well. It’s an FM one, but honestly, the FM broadcast isn’t that bad - especially considering the alternative of not having music at all. There is static occasionally, but that can usually be remediate by trying a different radio station, or turning the volume down on the unit. Also, most of these are cheap Chinese knockoffs of one another, so they’re all about the same quality. In other words, don’t spend more than $20-30 on one, and choose the one with the best reviews.

As for pairing, at least with the ones I’ve had, the only pairing you’ll need to do (if you go the FM route), is between the device and your MP3 player. Since you’d be using an aux cable, that would be a non-issue.

Unfortunately, if you’re dead set on not going the FM radio option, I don’t have any recommendations there. Sorry.

 

[araxara]

The main problems in using Bluetooth devices in a Tesla are

1. Tesla only connects to a phone's Bluetooth and thus an external media player bluetooth device can't be connected.
2. A second bluetooth device cannot be connected.

So if you need Phone and a separate Bluetooth media player simultaneously, you'll need to route the media player through your phone.

I've done some "research" upon this because I want to connect an XM-Radio via Bluetooth to my Model 3 (when I receive it). I've been investigating a solution right now with my Model S and Model X. The solution that I have come up with is a bit round about, but it basically entails connecting the line-out of the XM-Radio to a USB audio adapter which then connects to my iPhone. The iPhone is paired with the car and an app is run on the iPhone which plays the USB audio. The car then plays the Bluetooth audio of the iPhone.

Here are the pieces you need:

1. Griffin iMic USB Audio Device. Takes line-in and provides digitized audio via USB (iMic)
2. Apple Lighting to USB Camera Adapter. It provides a USB to Lighting interface and also allows external power so your phone can be powered while the lighting port is in use. (Lightning to USB 3 Camera Adapter)
3. A monitoring app that inputs from the USB audio device line-in and outputs to the phone speaker (which is routable to Bluetooth). I've used Garage Band which is overkill, but works in the background.

I've set all this up loosely and hooked it all up and it works. I don't need it for the Model S or Model X because it already has XM-Radio, but when the Model 3 arrives, I'll set up a more permanent installation.

 

[Perry]

So the Model 3 can only connect to one Bluetooth device at one time? Can you save more than one pairing and switch between them easily?

 

[araxara]

So the Model 3 can only connect to one Bluetooth device at one time? Can you save more than one pairing and switch between them easily?

Yes, one at a time (if it works like the Model S or X). You can set up multiple pairings, but they have to be with phones, not bluetooth audio devices. The Model 3 manual states:

Bluetooth® Connected Devices

If you have a Bluetooth-capable device such as a phone that is paired and connected to Model 3 (see Pairing a Bluetooth Phone on page 97), you can play audio files stored on it. You can also stream a music service from it (for example, Pandora or Spotify). Choose Media Player's Phone source, touch Connect Phone, touch the name of your Bluetooth- connected device, and then touch CONNECT.

Your Bluetooth device begins playing the audio file that is currently active on your device, and Media Player displays the Now Playing view. If no audio file is playing on your device, select the audio file you want to listen to from your device. After an audio file begins to play in Media Player, you can then use Media Player's controls to play other tracks.

Note: To play media from a Bluetooth- connected device, ensure that access to the device’s media is turned on (see Phone on page 97).

Note: Unpairing the phone (see Unpairing a Bluetooth Phone on page 98) has no effecton using the phone as a key. To forget an authenticated phone, see Keys on page 6.​

It mentions bluetooth devices, but then talks about pairing phones. I don't have my car yet, so someone who has one can try out various devices. But if it works like the other Tesla models, then you can only pair phones.

 

[Perry]

It mentions bluetooth devices, but then talks about pairing phones. I don't have my car yet, so someone who has one can try out various devices. But if it works like the other Tesla models, then you can only pair phones.

I wonder how it knows its a phone. The Bluetooth spec, especially audio streaming, has no affinity to phones. And my wife has an old Mazda that supports Bluetooth audio streaming from any device (doesn't have to be a phone). If and old non tech Mazda can do it I would imagine a modern so called tech car like the Model 3 should be able to do it.

The question is for those owning a Model 3, since I didn't get mine, if it can do pin-less Bluetooth pairing, since a lot of these non phone devices don't have a display and thus only do pin-less pairing.

Hoping someone with a Model 3 that has direct experience with pin-less paring can chime in on how that works and if it works.

 

[araxara]

I wonder how it knows its a phone. The Bluetooth spec, especially audio streaming, has no affinity to phones. And my wife has an old Mazda that supports Bluetooth audio streaming from any device (doesn't have to be a phone).

I believe it has to do with the Bluetooth Profile that is acceptable to the car. There is a discussion somewhere on this forum regarding this, but I can't locate it. See List of Bluetooth profiles - Wikipedia

 

[sduck]

I've done way too much research into this, and can state categorically that there are several non-phone bluetooth transmitters that will work with the model 3. However, using them is such a pain, that I gave up on them, and just stream stuff from my phone. BTW I highly recommend an app called Neutron - it can play just about any format file you throw at it, sounds great, has all the bells and whistles, and just basically works right.

The first thing I got working was a AGPTek Rocker V2 bluetooth audio player. It's a tiny ipod-like device that can play many file formats to an audio out or via bluetooth. It sounds great via bluetooth in the car, but the car doesn't remember it when you restart the car, so you have to reconnect it every time you get in the car.

What I really want is a way to connect my trusty old ipod (upgraded 5.5 with flash drive and rockbox and a really big battery) to the car, so I bought a bluetooth transmitter from amazon. A small taotronics one. It didn't work at all. So I bought another, newer taotronics one - no workee also (sort of - it would connect in receive mode, but not transmit, which is what you want). So at this point I was getting frustrated, and just bought like 5 different ones of different levels and prices, and proceeded to try them all. The one that worked was from 1Mii, their B03 model. And it only kind of worked - you had to connect with it in receive mode, every time you started the car (as the car wouldn't remember the connection), and then switch it to transmit, and then it would work. That's way too much work though - you would end up sitting and fiddling with the things for 3-5 minutes every time you started the car, which is a complete buzzkill in a cool high tech car like this.

BTW I would happily use the USB audio interface if it wan't COMPLETELY ****ED UP. Seriously there are 10-15 year old cars from the early days of USB audio that work better than this. Thankfully the tesla support team has told me that a major upgrade is in the works for it.

 

[Perry]

I also have rockbox installed on my SanDisk Sansa Clip+. I like this because I listen to long technical podcasts 2hr+ and continue to listen in and out of the car so the media can't be on a USB stick. Can't use the phone because there is no phone software as good as rockbox for podcasts with granular sightless rewind and forward. Can't use the car player because its tied to the car and can't continue from where I left of outside the car. So the only solution is to convert my MP3 player's 1/8 jack to a bluetooth transmitter that the model 3 can use.

Sounds like there isn't a good transmitter that anyone has found to work properly with the Model 3. I wonder if someone has the schematics of the Model 3 stereo system where we can tap into it pre-amp and feed an analog signal. There is got to be a way to do this even if its trough a manual toggle switch we can install somewhere that way we can add our own Aux 1/8 jack.

Another option might be for a dongle that provides aux input through the USB jack if one exists.

 

[crackers8199]

Another option might be for a dongle that provides aux input through the USB jack if one exists.

i don't think one exists yet (i've been looking), but i have considered trying to make my own using a raspberry pi. haven't gotten around to it yet, though...

 

[Perry]

i don't think one exists yet (i've been looking), but i have considered trying to make my own using a raspberry pi. haven't gotten around to it yet, though...

I wonder if a car stereo shop can wire an aux input jack into one of the car's audio harnesses pre-applification with a toggle switch.

 

[sduck]

So the only solution is to convert my MP3 player's 1/8 jack to a bluetooth transmitter that the model 3 can use.

You could try that AGPTek player I mentioned above. It actually works quite well, except for the having to reconnect it every time you start the car. And... the good news is that rockbox is being developed for it - currently functional but without bluetooth, but the developer is working on the bluetooth part currently.
https://www.amazon.com/AGPTEK-Bluetooth-Resolution-Digital-Supports/dp/B06X9GZHK1/
(there are quite a few other devices like this, this just happens to be the one I have)

I wonder if someone has the schematics of the Model 3 stereo system where we can tap into it pre-amp and feed an analog signal. There is got to be a way to do this even if its trough a manual toggle switch we can install somewhere that way we can add our own Aux 1/8 jack.

The power amp(s) is back in the passenger side C pillar. It should be relatively simple to add a mixing circuit to the feed into it.

Another option might be for a dongle that provides aux input through the USB jack if one exists.

Nothing exists for that currently. There isn't a driver installed for the streaming audio via usb. It would be relatively easy to implement this however, and I've sent a proposal to the tesla engineers about this - I know some local guys that could set something like this up really easily if the correct drivers could be installed. My idea was an optional tesla branded aux<>usb adaptor, that when plugged in enables the driver and also the "aux" input to the input stack. They seemed interested, but if anyone feels like contacting them about this, reinforcing that It Would Be A Really Great Idea, maybe they'll get the message.

 

[crackers8199]

I wonder if a car stereo shop can wire an aux input jack into one of the car's audio harnesses pre-applification with a toggle switch.

would be nice to have the option, as i've had the car less than 36 hours and i'm already sick of all the "loading error" messages on just about everything i try to play on tune in...

 

[Perry]

Nothing exists for that currently. There isn't a driver installed for the streaming audio via usb. It would be relatively easy to implement this however, and I've sent a proposal to the tesla engineers about this - I know some local guys that could set something like this up really easily if the correct drivers could be installed. My idea was an optional tesla branded aux<>usb adaptor, that when plugged in enables the driver and also the "aux" input to the input stack. They seemed interested, but if anyone feels like contacting them about this, reinforcing that It Would Be A Really Great Idea, maybe they'll get the message.

Who do I contact?

 

[sduck]

On your account page, go to the Manage (your vehicle) page, then use the Ask a Question form. Fill out everything, be polite, and click the Report to Tesla Executive Team if it's a specific thing like this. And remember, this goes to real people who can connect this to the people who can fix things, so be polite and articulate and all those things. They'll reply, which is a good time to reply back positively reinforcing your original query.

 

[crackers8199]

The main problems in using Bluetooth devices in a Tesla are

1. Tesla only connects to a phone's Bluetooth and thus an external media player bluetooth device can't be connected.
2. A second bluetooth device cannot be connected.

So if you need Phone and a separate Bluetooth media player simultaneously, you'll need to route the media player through your phone.

I've done some "research" upon this because I want to connect an XM-Radio via Bluetooth to my Model 3 (when I receive it). I've been investigating a solution right now with my Model S and Model X. The solution that I have come up with is a bit round about, but it basically entails connecting the line-out of the XM-Radio to a USB audio adapter which then connects to my iPhone. The iPhone is paired with the car and an app is run on the iPhone which plays the USB audio. The car then plays the Bluetooth audio of the iPhone.

Here are the pieces you need:

1. Griffin iMic USB Audio Device. Takes line-in and provides digitized audio via USB (iMic)
2. Apple Lighting to USB Camera Adapter. It provides a USB to Lighting interface and also allows external power so your phone can be powered while the lighting port is in use. (Lightning to USB 3 Camera Adapter)
3. A monitoring app that inputs from the USB audio device line-in and outputs to the phone speaker (which is routable to Bluetooth). I've used Garage Band which is overkill, but works in the background.

I've set all this up loosely and hooked it all up and it works. I don't need it for the Model S or Model X because it already has XM-Radio, but when the Model 3 arrives, I'll set up a more permanent installation.

any chance of something like that working for android?

 

[crackers8199]

Nothing exists for that currently. There isn't a driver installed for the streaming audio via usb. It would be relatively easy to implement this however, and I've sent a proposal to the tesla engineers about this - I know some local guys that could set something like this up really easily if the correct drivers could be installed. My idea was an optional tesla branded aux<>usb adaptor, that when plugged in enables the driver and also the "aux" input to the input stack. They seemed interested, but if anyone feels like contacting them about this, reinforcing that It Would Be A Really Great Idea, maybe they'll get the message.

couldn't you theoretically add an aux input to a raspberry pi, have that recording to a format the car can understand as if it's usb audio (as if it were just a simple flash drive), and play it that way? that's what i've been thinking about and trying to figure out if there's a way to make it work, but i haven't had the time to really dive into it...

 

[araxara]

any chance of something like that working for android?

I'm not familiar enough with Android, but I would think that it would probably be even easier, since most Android phones use a micro-USB or USB-C input. You would just need some Line-in to USB audio adapter. The Griffin iMic should work, but there are probably cheaper solutions available. There is a writeup for Android USB Audio here: USB Digital Audio  |  Android Open Source Project